Balls will not dash back into politics

ED BALLS will not be “dashing back” to frontline politics and will not play a role in his wife Yvette Cooper’s Labour leadership campaign.

The former shadow chancellor, who lost his seat at Westminster at the general election, acknowledged that he and ex-leader Ed Miliband had failed to persuade people they could run the country and suggested the party should have been more “pro-business”.

Mr Balls, who was defeated by 422 votes in Morley and Outwood, said he and Mr Miliband had to accept responsibility for the party’s failure to win the general election.

Indicating that he would not seek to stand in a by-election, Mr Balls said: “Out of politics is how I am thinking about things at the moment.”

Asked if he intended to run a think tank he added: “You never say never about anything, because who knows what is going to happen, it’s only been a couple of weeks.

“But I think the reality for me now is I want to make a difference to the world outside politics, that’s how I am thinking about things. I am not going to be dashing back.”

Reflecting on Labour’s defeat in an interview with the BBC’s political editor Nick Robinson, Mr Balls said: “Ed Miliband said straight after the election that he took full responsibility.

“But all of us have to bear our share of the responsibility. Ed was the leader, I backed him as shadow chancellor 100 per cent.

“In the end he didn’t persuade people he could be the prime minister but I didn’t persuade people I could be the chancellor either. We have to take that on the chin.”